In Occupied Palestine
Zionism in practice
Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Land
08:00 on 12 December until 08:00 on 13 December 2023
[Source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group]
Restrictions of movement: Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza are under relentless and extreme control over all travel and movement.
Gaza Strip
Armed Palestinian Resistance: Palestinian Resistance continued launching dozens of missiles towards the Green Line.
Air strikes: Heavy aerial bombardment on buildings, homes and many facilities.
Victims: Another 196 people in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces, now raising the total to more than 18,608. A further 494 people have been wounded, bringing that number up to more than 50,594. Precise statistics are not available, due to the violence surrounding hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
Attacks: All over Gaza, there are air strikes, heavy gunfire, tank and artillery shelling, as well as missiles fired from Israeli forces and military occupation, especially in Khan Yunis. The Israeli Navycontinues to fire missiles, targeting facilities and buildings along the shoreline of the whole of Gaza.
Heavy Israeli bombardments from air, land, and sea across Gaza continued on 13 December, especially in Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip. According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between the afternoons of 12 and 13 December, at least 196 Palestinians were killed and another 499 were injured in Gaza. Since 7 October, MoH has reported on at least 18,608 fatalities and about 50,594 injuries. About 70 per cent of the total fatalities are said to be women and children. Many more people are missing, presumably buried under the rubble, waiting for rescue or recovery.
Additionally, intense ground operations and fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups continued, especially in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp in the Middle Area. According to the Israeli military, ten Israeli soldiers, including several senior officers, were killed overnight, bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers who have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operations to 115, with 619 injured. The firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups into Israel has also continued.
On 13 December, for the second consecutive day, Israeli troops, accompanied by tanks, raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, in Beit Lahiya, north of Gaza city, with reports of mass arrests and ill-treatment of people who they have detained. On 13 December, Israeli forces released five doctors and all the female staff from custody detained the previous day. The director of the hospital and about 70 other medical staff remain detained in an unknown location outside of the hospital. Reports from those released indicate that they were interrogated, beaten and exposed to the harsh weather, before they eventually returned to the hospital.
WHO expressed its concern about the raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital. According to the MoH in Gaza, there are 65 patients including several needing intensive care, and 45 medical staff in the hospital. The hospital was operating at a minimal level due to acute shortages of fuel, water, food and medical supplies even before the raid. WHO called “for the protection of all people inside the hospital”.
On 13 December, an UNRWA school which was sheltering internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Jabalya Refugee Camp was hit, with casualties reported. The same school had been hit several times previously. On the same day, another school in Jabalya, which was also sheltering IDPs, was raided by Israeli forces with initial media reports and footage indicating IDP casualties.
UNRWA is verifying recent reports of incidents at UNRWA facilities. Since 7 October, 156 incidents affecting UNRWA premises have been reported, including at least 12 cases of military use and/or interference at UNRWA premises.
On 13 December, the Israeli military designated an additional area southwest of Khan Younis city, encompassing about 1.4 square kilometres, for immediate evacuation. This area was home to about 37,000 residents and an estimated 5,000 IDPs who took shelter in three designated emergency shelters in October 2023. Similar evacuations orders were issued in previous days for a large area east of Khan Younis. Collectively, these areas in the Khan Younis governorate encompass about 22 per cent of the Gaza Strip.
A new World Bank report warned of the severe impact that the current crisis is having on the Palestinian economy, stating that” the loss of life, speed and extent of damages to fixed assets and reduction in income flows across the Palestinian territories are unparalleled.” The Gaza Strip operated at only 16 per cent of its productive capacity in October, while prices have increased on average by 12 per cent, due to demand for products that are increasingly difficult to find on the local market. Approximately 85 per cent of workers in Gaza have been unemployed since the hostilities started, with most of Gaza’s 56,000 formal business establishments suspending operations, according to the World Bank. The West Bank economy has also been significantly affected, following Israel’s decision to prohibit access to 200,000 workers who previously worked in Israel and the settlements. Prior to the conflict, the World Bank forecast 3.2 per cent real GDP growth for the Palestinian economy in 2023, which has now been revised to 3.7 per cent.
Gaza Strip hostilities and casualties
The following are among the deadliest incidents reported between 14:00 on 12 December and 14:00 on 13 December:
At least eight Palestinians were reportedly killed, and several others injured in a residential building that was hit in the Ash Shabora area in Rafah.
At least nine Palestinians were reportedly killed in a residential building that was hit in Al Amal project, western Khan Younis.
Additionally, on 11 December, an IDP sheltering in an UNRWA installation in Khan Younis was reportedly shot and killed. Since 7 October, 43 UNRWA installations have been directly hit and 60 installations have sustained collateral damage, according to UNRWA. Some 284 IDPs sheltering in UNRWA facilities have been killed and another 976 injured.
According to Ministry of Education, as of 5 December, more than 3,477 students and 203 educational staff have been killed, more than 5,429 students and 507 teachers have been injured in the Gaza Strip. Some 342 school buildings sustained damage (over 69 per cent of all school buildings in Gaza). Of the 70 UNRWA-damaged schools, including at least 56 currently serving as shelters for IDPs during these hostilities. Several schools, including UNRWA schools, in the Gaza Stirp were directly hit by Israeli strikes or tank shell.
Displacement
To date, nearly 30 per cent of the Gaza Strip (excluding the orders to evacuate the areas north of Wadi Gaza) have been marked for evacuation on the Israeli military’s online map that was launched on 1 December. Residents’ access to this information is impaired by recurrent interruptions in telecommunications and the lack of electricity.
Following multiple orders by Israeli forces for Palestinians to evacuate, many IDPs are presently sheltering in southern Gaza. The two largest sites in the Rafah governorate, where thousands have relocated and erected makeshift structures and tents, are located in an under-construction hospital (‘the Qatari field hospital’) and the campus of the Al Quds Open University.
Tens of thousands of IDPs, who have arrived in Rafah since 3 December, continue to face extremely overcrowded conditions both inside and outside shelters. Large crowds wait for hours around aid distribution centres, in desperate need of food, water, shelter, health, and protection. Without enough latrines, open-air defecation is prevalent, increasing concerns of further spread of disease, particularly during rains and related flooding. The heavy rains and flooding which affected large parts of Gaza on 13 December are compounding human misery and adding to the risk of waterborne diseases.
As of 12 December, according to UNRWA, almost 1.9 million people in Gaza, or nearly 85 per cent of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced, many of them have been displaced multiple times.
As of 11 December, nearly 1.3 million of these IDPs were registered in 155 UNRWA facilities across Gaza, including more than 1.1 million in 98 UNRWA shelters in the Middle Area, Khan Younis and Rafah governorates. Obtaining an accurate total is challenging, given the difficulties involved in tracking IDPs staying with host families, the renewed movement of IDPs following evacuation orders since 1 December, and the evacuation of five UNRWA shelters on the orders of the Israeli military in eastern Khan Younis on 6 December.
Due to the overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions at UNRWA shelters in the south, there have been significant increases in some communicable diseases and conditions such as diarrhoea, influenza, chicken pox, meningitis, jaundice, impetigo acute respiratory infections, skin infections and hygiene-related conditions like lice.
On average, UNRWA shelters south of Wadi Gaza are sheltering nine times their intended IDP capacity.
Health care, including attacks
The Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza has announced that it has run out of vaccinations, leading to catastrophic health repercussions for children and the spread of diseases, especially among displaced people in overcrowded shelters. On 12 December, the MoH’s spokesperson in Gaza said that the Ministry had documented 360,000 cases of infectious diseases in shelters, noting that the actual number is believed to be higher.
For the eighth consecutive day, Al Awda Hospital in Jabalya, northern Gaza, remains surrounded by Israeli troops and tanks, and fighting with armed Palestinian groups is reported in its vicinity. Reportedly, 250 doctors, patients and their family members are trapped inside the hospital. On 9 December, two medical staff were reportedly killed while on duty inside the hospital, during clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups.
Currently, only 11 out of 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are partially functional and able to admit new patients, although services are limited. Only one of these hospitals is in the north, according to WHO. The two major hospitals in southern Gaza are operating at three times their bed capacity, while facing critical shortages of basic supplies and fuel. According to the MoH in Gaza, occupancy rates are now reaching 206 per cent in inpatient departments and 250 per cent in intensive care units. Additionally, these hospitals are providing shelter to thousands of IDPs.
On 13 December, the vicinity of Nasser hospital in Khan Younis was repeatedly bombarded, impeding the access of dozens of casualties. This hospital is among the ten hospitals in the south which are still partially operational and are sheltering thousands of IDPs.
West Bank
Israeli Army attack – 1 child and 2 adults wounded: Ramallah – 11:00, Israeli Occupation forces, in the village of Deir Abu Masha’al, fired live ammunition and stun grenades towards people,wounding a 14-year-old boy, Omar Samer Atta, as well as two adults.
Israeli Army attack – 1 youngster and 2 adults wounded: Ramallah – 15:05–17:30, Israeli forces, firing live ammunition, stormed into Kobar, wounding a 16-year-old youth, Muhammad Bilal Dar Youssef, as well as one other person: Saed Kamal Fahel.
Israeli Army attack: Jenin – morning, the Israeli Army, firing live ammunition, stormed into and patrolled Silat al-Harithiya.
Israeli Army attack – 3 killed (including a child) 4 wounded – home invasions: Jenin – since 03:40, Israeli Occupation forces have been storming into Jenin and the refugee camp there, invading many homes and killing three people: Ahmed Muhammad Asaad Ali Samar (aged 13), Rashad Muhammad Salama Turkman (aged 18) and Fouad Imad Abahra. Four people have been wounded: Muhammad Mahmoud Muqasqas (aged 17), Aziz Muhammad Talib (a news reporter), Raafat Ziyad Sabaana and Amr Manasra. Israeli forces also took prisoner 87 people. Three homes were struck from the air, hospitals are being besieged and ambulances held up and searched. Israeli bulldozers are tearing up roads.
Israeli Army attack – 1 wounded: Tulkarem – 15:05, Israeli troops, at the Jbara checkpoint, opened fire on, and wounded, one person: Aws Walid Atta.
Israeli Army attack – 1 youngster wounded: Qalqiliya – 06:55, the Israeli military stormed into the city, opening fire on and wounding a 16-year-old youth, Ahmed Abdel Rahman Yassin, then abducting him.
Israeli settler attack – homes under fire: Qalqiliya – 21:50, armed Israeli settlers opened fire towards homes, in Far’ata village.
Home invasions and demolition: Jerusalem – morning, Israeli Occupation forces demolished an apartment building, in the Ras al-Amoud neighbourhood.
Home invasion: Jerusalem – 13:40, Israeli forces stormed into the village of Beit Ijza and searched a home.
Home invasions – 16 taken prisoner: Jerusalem – dawn, the Israeli Army invaded Hizma and searched a number of homes, taking prisoner 16 residents.
Home invasions – 3 injured – 2 taken prisoner: Ramallah – 21:10–00:35, the Israeli Army raided Ni’lin and invaded a number of homes, injuring three people and taking prisoner two others.
Home invasions and demolition – agricultural sabotage: Tubas – 10:00, Israeli troops destroyed four apartments in a building, near the North Jordan Valley village of Marj, in addition to a solar cell and irrigation.
Home invasions – rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades: Nablus – 16:00-17:35, the Israeli military, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, raided the village of Madama and invaded a number of homes.
Home invasions – 1 taken prisoner: Nablus – 06:15, Israeli forces raided the village of Talfit, invaded a number of homes, and took prisoner one resident.
Home invasions: Hebron – 02:10, Israeli Occupation forces raided Beit Awa and searched two homes.
Israeli police and settlers’ mosque violation: Jerusalem – 08:00, settler militants, escorted by Israeli police, invaded the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and molested worshippers.
Israeli Army pastoral and agricultural sabotage: Jerusalem – 08:40, Israeli Occupation forces, in Anata, demolished three livestock shelters as well as a building under construction and alsodestroyed 30 beehives and 50 fruit trees.
Israeli Army brutality and population–control: Nablus – 08:35, Israeli troops set up a checkpoint at the al-Laban al-Sharqiya village road junction, beating up and breaking the limbs of a man:Yasser Jamal Snobar.
Israeli Army abduction: Jericho – 12:35, Israeli forces abducted a 16-year-old youth, Adam Samir Abu Sharar, after he reported, as ordered, for interrogation at Israeli Military Intelligence.
Occupation settlement development – land-grab: Salfit – 14:40, Israeli Occupation forces bulldozed land, near the northern entrance to Salfit, to build a settlement road for the Ariel settlement.
Occupation settler violence: Tubas – Israeli settlers stole 30 cows from northern Jordan Valley land, east of Ein al-Hilweh.
Occupation road casualties: Qalqiliya – 12:15, an Israeli Army vehicle ran over, and seriously injured, a Qalqiliya resident: Mustafa Hossam Hantash.
Raid: Jerusalem – 14:00, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled al-Ram.
Raid: Jenin – evening, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Araba.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Ramallah – 23:30, the Israeli Army raided the town of Beit Liqiya, taking prisoner one person.
Raid: Ramallah – 00:45, Israeli troops raided and patrolled al-Bireh.
Raid: Ramallah – 01:35–07:35, the Israeli military raided and patrolled Turmusaya.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner in refugee camp: Ramallah – 05:00, Israeli soldiers raided the al-Amari refugee camp in the city of al-Bireh, taking prisoner two people.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Ramallah – 07:45, Israeli Occupation forces raided the village of Deir Ammar, taking prisoner one person.
Raid: Tubas – 20:30, Israeli forces raided and patrolled the village of Bardala.
Raid – 4 taken prisoner: Qalqiliya – 07:25, the Israeli Army raided the village of Azzun Atma, taking prisoner four people.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Nablus – 06:15, Israeli troops raided the city, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Nablus – 06:20, the Israeli military raided Beit Iba, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Salfit – 21:15, Israeli soldiers raided the village of Haris, taking prisoner one person.
Raid: Bethlehem – 09:40, Israeli Occupation forces raided Nahalin.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – 10:30, Israeli forces raided the city, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – beating: Bethlehem – 19:10–01:00, the Israeli Army, firing stun grenades, raided and patrolled the village of Husan, beating up and injuring a villager, Muhammad Ghazi Shusha, near the entrance to the village.
Raid: Bethlehem – 21:30– 02:00, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Nahalin.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – 02:45, the Israeli military raided Janata, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – 4 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – 03:35, Israeli soldiers raided the al-Azza refugee camp, taking prisoner four people.
Raid: Hebron – 13:50, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled al-Karmil.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Hebron – 17:10, Israeli forces raided Idhna, taking prisoner one person.
Raid: Hebron – 22:50, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the village of Deir al-Asal al-Fawqa.
Raid – 3 taken prisoner: Hebron – 01:00, Israeli troops raided the city, taking prisoner three people.
Raid: Hebron – 03:00, the Israeli military raided and patrolled al-Ramadin.
Raid – 3 taken prisoner: Hebron – 04:40, Israeli soldiers raided the al-Arroub refugee camp, taking prisoner three people.
Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Hebron – dawn, Israeli Occupation forces raided the village of Sheikh al-Arroub, taking prisoner two people.
YAWN!